Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
The standout performance from any 3-year-old during Cup week was Switzerland’s (Snitzel) victory in the G1 Coolmore Stud S. (1200 metres).
The clock doesn’t lie, and this colt ran time. It was the first time we saw Chris Waller’s charge in a race with brutal tempo. He thrived on it much like his illustrious stablemate, Via Sistina (Ire) (Fastnet Rock) (we’ll touch on her later).
He clocked a slick 1:08.28, which is almost 7l quicker than Group 1 average for 3-year-olds up the Flemington straight. The son of Snitzel absorbed the frantic lead speed set by Bodyguard (I Am Invincible), who went through the first half of the race the best part of 8l faster than average for this grade.
There were only two horses that finished above benchmark for the final 200 metres and that was Switzerland and Bellatrix Star (Star Witness) – both high-class sprinters.
Switzerland’s rating on our database his 96, which was 2l better than what Sunshine In Paris (Invader) rated when she won the G1 Champions Sprint (1200 metres) seven days later. In fact, had Switzerland ran in The Everest and rated 96, he would’ve taken a lot of beating.
It must be said that Sunshine In Paris was held up in her straight victory. We’ll sit on the fence, or should we say, we’ll play the Switzerland card and say there’s not much between Switzerland (the horse) and our top sprinters.
Still on the straight races during Cup week. Isthmus (I Am Invincible) clocked the best last 400 metres and 200 metres at the meeting on Derby Day when taking out the G3 Furphy Sprint (1100 metres). Two of her top three ratings have come down the straight with her next best figure over 1000 metres at Sandown, which is as close straight racing as you'll get. She’s beaten the Group 3 benchmark by 4l and coupled with those electric late splits, she might not be out of place in a Newmarket H.
Neither will her stablemate, Right To Party (Zoustar), who was runner-up to Sunshine In Paris in the Champions Sprint. I know he’s a gelding, but Pisanello (Ribchester {Ire}) won the final event on Stakes Day and did it lane 10 – almost every straight winner for the carnival was out around lane 20. His closing splits suggest he is stakes class and he’ll be winning races well beyond the BM80 he claimed here – these are the ones to blackbook because you can back them through the grades.
Within The Law (Lucky Vega {Ire}) won the $500,000 R. Listed Inglis Banner previously held on Cox Plate Day. Off a fast tempo, he’s failed to beat the class benchmark and not one juvenile was able to come home faster than benchmark time. Average race at best.
At the other end of the spectrum, Goldrush Guru’s (American Pharoah {USA}) Victoria Derby win was 1.3l outside benchmark time with El Castello (Castelvecchio) clocking the best last 200 metres despite working into the headwind around the bend.
Fillies to follow
Switching to the fillies, and they went slow in the G3 The Vanity won by Zeitung (Exceed And Excel), who used her 1200 metres turn of foot to outsprint her rivals. One horse who displayed super acceleration was Benagil (Manhattan Rain). She wanted to lay in up the straight but her last 200 metres ranked ninth for the meeting. If they can fix her manners and she stretches her brilliance to 1600 metres, she can win the G1 Thousand Guineas this weekend. But she’ll need to beat our blackbooker from a few weeks ago Aeliana (Castelvecchio), who won again after we posted this following her win on 19 October.
“The G3 Reginald Allen (1400 metres) might have produced a filly of the future. Aeliana went from BM72 grade to winning at Group 3 level with 45 days between runs. This is not an easy feat. She clocked 1.23:04, which is 0.7l slower than the class average but it was her late splits that suggest she could be beyond this grade. She produced the best last 200 metres of any winner on the day. It ranked fifth for the meeting and was in excess of 3l faster than the Group 3 benchmark.”
Well, she went to Flemington on Derby Day and smashed them by 3.5l in the G3 Carbine Club S. (1600 metres) and is now your $3 favourite for the Thousand Guineas.
Her stablemate, Amelita (Zousain) was the best victory on Oaks Day. She took out the G3 Red Roses (1100 metres) beating the class benchmark by 3l and clocking the fourth best last 800 metres of the day. Like Aeliana, she jumped from a BM68 to winning a Group 3 and looks to have a very bright future in some famous silks.
Knight’s Choice validates Q22 as a Melbourne Cup launchpad
Knight’s Choice (Extreme Choice) did wonders for our sport by taking out the Melbourne Cup. Bookies were hit hard by the once-a-year punters who recognised Robbie Dolan. Yet again, the Q22 run during the Brisbane winter has provided a Cup winner. It’s a race to watch from now on.
Finally, Via Sistina has been the horse of the spring. Her Cox Plate rating is the highest we have on our database that goes back a decade now. She rated down off that win by about 8l but still won Saturday’s G1 Champions S. (2000 metres). Runner-up to her was Atishu (NZ) (Savabeel), who had another terrific Cup week. Her second-place time of 2:02.32 was still quicker than Group 1 benchmark and the week before she won the G1 Empire Rose.
My horse to follow from Cup week is the Grahame Begg-trained Splash Back (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}). She was slowly away and held up at a vital stage when eighth behind Fancify (NZ) (Niagara) on Cup Day. She produced the best last 600/400 and 200 metres of the day and her overall time was faster than Group 3 average meaning she is well and truly up to this grade.
